A Salute to Alumni Success

1992 Kris Diddens-Pioneer (M.Ed., Professional Development) received the Administrator of the Year Golden Apple
award from Sunnyside School District. She is the principal at Pioneer Elementary School.

2002
Kay Pettit (B.A., Education) received the Elementary Teacher of the Year Golden Apple award from Sunnyside
School District. Pettit teaches at Outlook Elementary School.

2007 Joshua Schlegel (B.Ed., Mathematics) was named the 2013-14 Regional Teacher of the Year by the Educational
Service District 105. He is a math coach at Harrison Middle School in the Sunnyside School District.

2008
Shawnta (Bush) DiFalo (M.I.T., Elementary Education) is an assistant principal at Kiona-Benton City School
District serving the middle and high schools.

2009 Nicole Weber (B.A., English, 2009; B.A., American Cultural Studies, 2008) earned a Master of Arts in Sociology
from New Mexico State University. She will be attending the University of Utah for a Ph.D. program in environmental sociology.

Chris Hildman (B.A., Education) received the North Star Award from Pasco School District. He is a seventh grade language arts and history teacher at McLoughlin Middle School.

2011
Traci Wilson-Harrison (B.A., Education, 1999; M.Ed., Special Education, 2011) received the Secondary Teacher of the Year Golden Apple award from Sunnyside School District. She teaches at Harrison Middle School.

2012
Ramon Guel (M.A., English) is an adjunct instructor at Chemeketa Community College in Portland, Oregon.

Carmen Mendez (B.A., Business Administration) is the executive director at Safe Yakima Valley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening communities and making neighborhoods safe and drug free.